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The Ottawa Senators will forfeit a first-round draft pick for their role in the July 2021 trade of Evgenii Dadonov to the Golden Knights and the subsequently invalidated March 2022 deal that would have sent Dadonov from Las Vegas to the Ducks.

Ottawa will forfeit its first-round draft pick in one of the 2024, 2025 or 2026 NHL drafts. The Senators will make that determination within 24 hours of the conclusion of the draft lottery that season.

In March 2022, the Golden Knights traded Dadonov to the Ducks along with a conditional second-round pick for defenseman John Moore and the contract of forward Ryan Kesler. But hours after the trade was announced, Vegas said it had “become aware of an issue with respect to the trade” and was consulting with the league office about it.

The issue surrounded Dadonov’s limited no-trade clause in his contract, which he signed in October 2020 with the Senators. The clause indicated that Dadonov couldn’t be traded without first submitting a 10-team no-trade list.

The Ducks were on a previously submitted no-trade list to Ottawa. But when the Golden Knights traded for Dadonov in July 2021, there was no mention of the trade protection on the trade call with the Senators and the NHL. Therefore, it was not acknowledged when Vegas completed the trade with Anaheim.

Golden Knights management met with the NHL in 2022 about the situation, seeking some level of discipline for the Senators.

“We appreciate the league’s diligence on this matter and respect the decision,” the Golden Knights said Wednesday in a statement.

Las Vegas traded Dadonov to the Montreal Canadiens in June 2022 for the contract of defenseman Shea Weber.

Dadonov has played for the Dallas Stars for the past two seasons. He has played 493 games in 10 NHL seasons, scoring 301 points.

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Auburn’s Freeze diagnosed with prostate cancer

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Auburn's Freeze diagnosed with prostate cancer

Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is expected to make a full recovery after doctors detected the disease in its early stages, the school announced Friday.

Freeze, 55, will continue coaching the Tigers while receiving treatment, Auburn officials said in a statement.

“Recently, Coach Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer,” the statement said. “Thankfully, it was detected early and his doctors have advised that it is very treatable and curable. He will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities, and with forthcoming proper treatment, is expected to make a full recovery.

“Coach Freeze is incredibly appreciative of our medical professionals and has asked that we use his experience as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing and scheduling annual health screenings.”

The Tigers are scheduled to start spring practice March 25.

Freeze’s teams went 11-14 (5-11 SEC) in his first two seasons, including a 5-7 campaign in 2024. With the additions of transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), wide receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest), offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech), and others, the Tigers are expected to be much improved this coming season.

At Liberty, Freeze coached from a hospital bed set up in the coaches’ box during the Flames’ 24-0 loss to Syracuse in his debut on Aug. 31, 2019. Freeze was recovering from surgery for a herniated disk in his back and a staph infection.

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Iowa State gives AD Pollard 5-year extension

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Iowa State gives AD Pollard 5-year extension

AMES, Iowa — Jamie Pollard, the Iowa State athletic director since 2005, has received a five-year contract extension through 2030, the university announced Friday.

The Cyclones have had unprecedented success in the major sports in 2024-25. The football team had its first 11-win season and the ninth-ranked men’s basketball team has been in the top 10 all season and achieved its highest ranking since 1956-57 when it reached No. 3 in December.

Terms of Pollard’s contract will be announced later, the school said.

“I am humbled to have had the opportunity to lead our athletics program for the past 20 years,” said Pollard, who thanked the administration for its support. “We have an amazing culture in our athletics program, led by our talented and dedicated coaches and staff. Although our industry is undergoing transformational change, I am confident our department will successfully embrace these challenges with the same energy and urgency that has proven to be successful in the past.”

Pollard, the nation’s third-longest serving Power 4 athletic director, has overseen $340 million in new construction and facility renovations. Since 2011-12, and excluding the 2020-21 pandemic year, ISU is the only school in the nation to have average attendances over 50,000 in football, 12,000 in men’s basketball and 9,000 in women’s basketball.

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Bowling Green’s Loeffler takes QB job with Eagles

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Bowling Green's Loeffler takes QB job with Eagles

Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler is leaving the school after six seasons to become quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Loeffler, 50, went 27-41 at Bowling Green but led the Falcons to bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons, posting a 16-10 record in MAC play during the span.

He will replace Doug Nussmeier, who left the Eagles with Kellen Moore to become the New Orleans Saints‘ offensive coordinator. Loeffler will work under new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who had been the team’s passing game coordinator and associate head coach.

“Scot has been dedicated to not only BGSU Football, but to all our student-athletes and BGSU Athletics, as well as our Falcon Marching Band and spirit programs,” university president Rodney Rogers said in a statement. “He cares deeply about player development and student success, and we wish him all the best as he continues his coaching career in the NFL with the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles.”

Loeffler returns to the NFL for the first time since 2008, when he coached quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions. A former Michigan quarterback, Loeffler coached QBs at his alma mater from 2002 to 2007 and also with Central Michigan and Florida. He first became an offensive coordinator with Temple in 2011 and made coordinator stops with Auburn, Virginia Tech and Boston College before landing his first head-coaching opportunity at Bowling Green.

The coaching change means Bowling Green players now have a 30-day window to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The Falcons had already lost three All-MAC performers to the portal in December in running back Terion Stewart (Virginia Tech), offensive tackle Alex Wollschlaeger (Kentucky) and linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. (Kansas). Bowling Green also is losing record-setting tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to the NFL draft.

Athletic director Derek van der Merwe will lead the search for Loeffler’s replacement. In a statement, Van der Merwe praised Loeffler for building “a very successful program in a challenging climate in collegiate sports.

“I am looking forward to this process of finding the next great leader for our program who embraces what it means to be a Falcon,” Van der Merwe added.

ESPN’s Max Olson contributed to this report.

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